J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) Hits New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $165.00 to $130.00. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. J.B. Hunt Transport Services traded as low as $126.81 and last traded at $127.90, with a volume of 152336 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $135.11.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $150.00 target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.20.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. The trade was a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total transaction of $194,004.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter worth approximately $1,578,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 145,850.0% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 2,919 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 2,917 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $255,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 69,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,810,000 after buying an additional 25,034 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.92 billion, a PE ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $151.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.35.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.02. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.94%.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc provides surface transportation, delivery, and logistic services in the United States. It operates through five segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), Final Mile Services (FMS), and Truckload (JBT). The JBI segment offers intermodal freight solutions.